Bottle holder



y 15, 1951 E. D. CLINEHENS 2,552,844

BOTTLE HOLDER Filed May 10, 1946 Patented May 15, 1951 BOTTLE HOLDERElmo D. Clinehens, Penn Township, St. Joseph County, Ind.

Application May 10, 1946, Serial No. 668,957

' 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in bottle holders, andparticularly to a holder for an infants nursing bottle. The primaryobject of the invention is to pro vide a device of this character whichis adapted to fit loosely around the body of an infant in a comfortablefirmly supported position and without danger of injuring the infant, sothat no fixed anchorage is required therefor.

A further object is to provide a device of this character Which isreadily adjustable and is adapted to be supported and positioned at theinfants chest in such a manner that the infant is free to move both hisbody and his head without danger of spilling or releasing the bottle.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which issimple in construction, easy to use, light in weight and inexpensive tomanufacture.

A further object is to provide a device of this character with novelmeans for adjusting the same in desired operative position.

A further object is to provide a device of this character with novelmeans. for gripping a bottle firmly and without danger of breakage, andin x which a bottle may be mounted rapidly and easily.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the device.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary end view of the device.

Referring to the drawing, which illustrates one embodiment of theinvention, the numeral lfl designates a support upon which a clamp 12 ismounted adjustably, said clamp being adapted to mount a conventionalnursing bottle l4.

The support It comprises a pair of rigid elongated plates of substantialwidth each having a substantially flat inner portion 16 and an outer endportion l8 bent in substantially J -form on a curve of a radius to fitaround the sides of the chest of an infant. The portions 18 may becurved on a radius in the order of from 3 inches to 4 inches, and is ofan extent greater than 90 and preferably less than 180. These dimensionsare illustrative only, it being contemplated that the portions 18 neednot be of arcuate form, and that they will fit around an infants chestin a manner to permit the portions I 5, when superimposed asillustrated, to rest flat upon the chest and to be held against tiltingby the fitting of the parts [3 at the sides of the chest. In thisconnection, it is preferable that the members l8 be susceptible ofslight bending and reshaping as tions it of the support and includes acentral flat part or top wall 22 hearing in face engagement with the topface of the uppermost part US, side Walls 24 extending along the sidesof the superimposed parts of the support, and inturned bottom flanges26. The retainer is of a size and shape adapted to hold the parts It ofthe support in superimposed parallel relation and to permit longitudinal sliding of said parts relative to each other and to saidretainer. The projections 20 are positioned to engage the ends of theretainer when the parts are extended, and thereby prevent disassembly.One or more tabs or ears 28 are struck from the top wall 22 of theretainer and extend in planes perpendicular thereto and to the sidewalls 24. The cars have a central aperture formed therein.

The clamp I2 is preferably formed from a pair of clamp arms 30 and 32which are preferably formed from stiff material having some resilience,for example, sheet metal or plastic material. The arms have innerstraight runs 34 which are pivoted at their end portions to the ears 28by suitable means, such as a screw 36 and a thumb nut 38. As best seenin Fig. 3, the runs 34 are pivoted off-center with respect to thetransverse dimension thereof, and the lower edges of said arms have acam shape at 40, so that said cam edge will bear firmly against the topWall 22 of the retainer or the surface of the uppermost part I6, whensaid clamp is positioned at an angle to the perpendicular for use.

The intermediate portions of the arms are preferably apertured and, ifdesired or necessary to afford the required gripping action of the arms,suitable means may be provided to hold the arms together. Such means arehere illustrated as a screw or bolt 44 extending freely through opposedapertures and mounting a thumb nut 46. A coil spring 48 encircles thebolt at one end and serves to urge the arms together. The outer ends orjaws 50 of the arms 3!), 32 are bent outwardly in substantially U-shapelongitudinally thereof and in a manner conforming to the shape of and tofirmly grip the bottle I 4. Rubber pads 52 are adhered or otherwisesecured to the inner faces of of the parts of the support, for example,a width of from two to three inches, the support has substantial bearingengagement with the front and sides of the infants chest, and hence isstable in its position. Therefore, the device may be used in anylocation, and it is not necessary that the infant lie in some exactposition relative to a previous devices which must be mounted oranchored to a crib or the like.

The angle of the arms SB'and 32 is readily adjustable to position thebottle with its nipple at or adjacent to the'infants mouth. In thisconnection, the point along the length of the bottle at which the bottleis engaged by the gripping jaws may be varied to accommodate variationsin the angular position of the arms 30, 32, and therefore a substantialrange of adjustment is obtained. The bottle need not be clamped by theapplication of great pressureby the jaws 50', inasmuch as a lightpressure by the padded jaws will prevent slippage of the bottle and itsrelease or displacement by the infant. Likewise, by virtue of the camedges 46, the arms will remain in any angular position in which they areset, and a tight frictional grip by the screwand nut arrangement 36, 33is not necessary as long as lateral play or looseness at the pivot jointis avoided. This permits change of angular position without necessity ofmanipulating the nut 38. A further advantage is that the child may movewithout disturbing the device, and can turn his head. Also, there isenough play so that a child can grip the bottle and pull it to him aslight extent without disturbing or endangering the supporting functionof the device.

It will be understood that, while the device here illustrated anddescribed is preferred, it may be embodied in other forms Within thespirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A bottle holder adapted to support a bottle support or other memberas is required with for a nursing infant, comprising a pair of J- shapedparts having their shank portions superimposed and their curved portionsarranged oppositely, said parts having broad supporting surfaces, aretainer fitting around and slidably receiving said shank portions andincluding a part perpendicular to said shanks, and an elongated clamppivoted to the perpendicular part of said retainer and adapted to bepositioned in any selected angular position.

2. A bottle holder adapted to support a bottle for a nursing infant,comprising a pair of J- shaped parts having their shank portionssuperimposed and their curved portions arranged oppositely, said partshaving broad supporting surfaces, a retainer slidably receiving saidshank portions and including a wide plate bearing against the outermostshank portion, return bent flanges projecting from the opposite sides ofsaid plate and embracing said shank portions and ears extendingperpendicularly outwardly from said plate, an elongated clamp pivotallymounted on said retainer ears and frictionally clamped thereon to bepositioned in any selected angular position, and means for limitingsliding move,- ment of said shank portions relative to said retainer.

. 3. A bottle holder comprising a pair of broad elongated rigid plateshaving flat superimposed portions and bent end portions, a retainerfitting slidably around said superimposed portions and having aprojection perpendicular thereto and to said plates, a pair of rigidelongated arms each having an outwardly off-set jaw portion at one end,means pivotally connecting and clamping the opposed ends of said arms tosaid projection, one of said arms having an eccentric portion at itspivoted end adapted to bear against said retainer in selected angularpositions, and means for drawing said arms toward each other.

ELMO D. CLINEHENS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date

